It rains. And it rains. Soon, the weatherman tells us, the snow will be gone from our yards and gardens, slowly whittled away by pelting water that falls steadily from the bleak skies.

The river roils with energy, its power unleashed and clearly visible.

The water pushes its way through town, tumbling toward the lower (but truly higher) falls where it hurtles over the edge and drops to a wider and more peaceful valley flow.

This is not the highest it has been in the past five years; there have been times when to stand on the suspension bridge meant getting soaked from the spray. However, more rain is expected over the next two days, with temperatures that will encourage continued snowmelt.

Downtown was quiet this afternoon compared to the noise of Saturday’s St. Patrick’s Day parade. We avoided the crowds and noise then (sorry, no parade pictures due to our 5th year of not going) but today SuperDad and I had a late lunch/early supper of corned beef sandwiches at the Irish pub. The taste was so rich and flavorful that I had to close my eyes and focus on each bite. As I write this, four hours have passed and I’m still smiling — this is what good food can do to a person.

The view across the street from the restaurant, however, is different story.

I’m not smiling over this scene, despite it being positive progress; this structure that was erected for Expo ’74 — and has housed the 1909 Looff Carrousel since 1975 — is being dismantled, torn down after 42 years. The carrousel itself, with its band organ and wonderful painted horses and other animals, is safely in storage (and/or being restored) during the time needed to take down the old building and put up a new one. The park feels achingly empty without the carrousel. I’ll have to wait another year to have that space filled once again.

Twenty-eight years ago, on Saturday the fifth of March, there were flowers and blown glass swans on top of a tiered cake. Family and friends wished us well as we drove off in an old pick-up truck in the rain. Together we have bought 11 vehicles, driven thousands upon thousands of miles, moved 11 times, purchased 3 different houses (and sold 2 of them), and raised 4 children.

Today is also Saturday the fifth of March. We are expecting rain much of the day and I’m sure we’ll stay home, but it will be a day of quiet contentment.

1. It’s all about FAMILY. Family in the vehicle on a journey of 2,000 (or was it 3,000?) miles… family at the terminus… family visited along the way.

2. Did I mention it’s a long drive? Our minivan now has over 107K on the odometer. A few hours of time were put in behind the wheel by the resident teenager driver-in-training (45 minutes of which was 75mph in a strong headwind between Flagstaff and Phoenix, poor kid). EB helped out for an hour or so but he preferred looking at the scenery. I drove a few hours each day but SuperDad put in the bulk of his time in the driver’s seat.

historic minivan

3. If you want to sleep along the way, I can recommend listening to the audiobook of Walden by Henry David Thoreau. The combination of prose and narrator’s voice conked me out multiple times. I had no idea that Thoreau had written a lullaby.

4. Strangely enough, Machiavelli’s The Prince was more engrossing although ultimately it also lulled me to sleep.

5. If it is an audiobook, do I still underline the title or should I use quotation marks?

6. For the safety of the passengers when I was driving, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, episodes of “Car Talk” and my Rush Permanent Waves CD were put into play.

7. The desert in springtime is lovely.

8. The desert is actually quite lovely any time of year.

Zion National Park

9. My older brother, his lovely wife, and two of their three kids were also visiting in Tucson on spring break. The 8 of us might have been a little overwhelming all at once, but my father and his wife seemed to enjoy having us there.
It’s all about FAMILY.

Clockwise from top left: posing with my dad and the book I made for him, my almost-twin brother with Dad, 4 cousins, me with my sweet SIL, my niece with Grandma, 4 cousins with Grandpa

10. On the way home from Tucson, we had a brief visit with my sister and an overnight with SuperDad’s younger sister and her family. Our final stop matched our first stop: my dh’s parents live just a couple hours away from us and they kept the dog occupied and content for the week.